In this section:
Everyone should have a Will.
Things to keep in mind

Everyone should have a Will.

A Will is a fundamental estate planning device, although there are many other elements of a full estate plan.

Remember that property left by a Will must go through Probate. As part of an overall estate plan, you should determine what property might not pass under your Will. For example, as explained below, life insurance proceeds and retirement plan assets pass automatically to the named beneficiaries, and jointly-held property passes to the joint owner.

Specific professional advice should be sought on this topic if you have a large Estate or significant property that could be transferred through some method other than by Will.

In almost all jurisdictions, a Will is the only document you can use to name a Guardian for your children. Furthermore, a Will is a convenient means of transferring some types of property such as cash, vehicles, personal possessions, etc., that may be difficult to transfer by other methods.

Things to keep in mind

Remember that some types of property cannot be transferred by Will. For example, property that is owned jointly at your death automatically passes to the surviving joint owner. Life insurance proceeds payable to a named Beneficiary or Beneficiaries also pass automatically to those Beneficiaries.
Property in a living Trust passes to the Beneficiaries named in the Trust document. Funds remaining in retirement plans including pensions and profit sharing plans that are payable to named Beneficiaries will pass to those beneficiaries. If you have property of this type and would like to make changes, you should contact your insurer or retirement plan manager, or you may seek specific professional advice in dealing with that property.

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